Past News Releases

As Risperdal lawsuits (http://www.risperdallawsuitcenter.com/ )
continue to mount in U.S. courts, Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes the publication of a new study which reveals the off-label use of atypical antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal is rising among children in foster care. The research, which was published April 1st in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, looked at data pertaining to drug use among youths with ADHD, and compared age groups, Medicaid eligibility, and presence in foster care. Among other things, the study authors found that nearly one-third of the ADHD-diagnosed foster care youth ages (2-17 years of age) included in the assessment received atypical antipsychotics during the study period. The most commonly prescribed drugs included Risperdal, Abilify, and Seroquel, none of which are currently approved to treat behavioral disorders, such as ADHD, in children and adolescents.*

“This study is interesting in light of the growing number of Risperdal lawsuits which allege the medication was improperly marketed for off-label use in children,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing the victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm is currently offering free legal consultations to men and boys who allegedly developed gynecomastia, or male breast growth, due to their use of Risperdal.

Risperdal Lawsuits
Risperdal is an atypical antipsychotic drug marketed by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit that is used to treat adult and adolescent schizophrenia, as well as bipolar disorder in adults and children ages 10-to-17. Risperdal is also approved to treat irritability in children (5-to-16 years of age) with autistic disorder.

According to court documents, more than 350 Risperdal lawsuits have been filed in a consolidated litigation now underway in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania on behalf of alleged victims of Risperdal side effects, including gynecomastia. Among other things, these lawsuit claim that the medication was improperly marketed for pediatric indications before health regulators granted approval for such uses in 2006. The lawsuits also claim that Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit concealed the potential side effects associated with the medication, including the link between Risperdal and gynecomastia. (Risperdal Litigation, case number 100300296)

In November, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen agreed to pay $2.2 billion to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice that accused the companies of improperly marketing several medications, including Risperdal. Among other things, the Department of Justice alleged that the drug makers had engaged in off-label marketing of Risperdal, and had also downplayed its association with serious side effects, including male breast development. (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 04-cv-1529)

Men and boys who allegedly developed gynecomastia due to their use of Risperdal may be entitled to compensation for their injury-related damages. Learn more about filing a Risperdal lawsuit at Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s website. Free case reviews may also be obtained by calling the Firm directly at 800-511-5092.

*online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/cap.2013.0094, Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, April 1, 2014

About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the Plaintiffs’ Hot List, recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country, for the past 12 consecutive years. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is the only firm in the country to be named to this prestigious list every year since the list was first published in 2003.

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